Eternally...
by Ragna
Summary: One good turn deserves another...


TITLE: Eternally...   
AUTHOR: Ragna (RaverRagna@excite.com)   
RATING: PG.   
CLASSIFICATION: Doyle/Cordelia   
SUMMARY: One good turn deserves another...   
SPOILERS: Set after season 1 A:tS with a twist; Doyle lived, Angel left and Pike came instead of Wesley.   
DISTRIBUTION: Any sites with my fic up; you all have unspoken permission. I write it, you can post it. Everyone else just keep my name on it and let me know.   
PREVIOUS PARTS/ARCHIVED AT: http://www.envy.nu/allthepain/index.html   
DISCLAIMER: If you don't recognize it, chances are it's my own creation. If you do, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kazui Sandollar, FOX and the WB own it or them. Various friends of mine are holding characters hostage. You may see them by appointment only. The song is "Mystic Eyes" by Hiroki Wada.  
FEEDBACK: Sorry I'm not home right now I'm walking in the spiderwebs so leave a message and I'll call you back...in other words, I want it. Don't care if it's onlist or not, but I prefer offlist since I have quite a few lists on No Mail.   
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Answer to challenge #232 by Mandy at YGTS? I finally answered it after all this time...and also Improv #22 (sugar -- frame -- sheer -- time).  
~*~*~  


_// Beyond the moon a blue searchlight falls on you   
Suddenly a dancing angel appears So who are you?   
Now the door of fate is open, so just fall in love   
I feel apprehensive; I won't let this moment escape me Don't stop baby \\_  
  


Cordelia slapped Pike, hard. "Sugar, why you, you..."  
  
Pike shook his head. "Damn, Cordelia. Don't hit so hard."  
  
The hardness flowed out of Cordelia's eyes. "Oh my God, Pike. I didn't mean..."  
  
Pike shook his head. "Hey, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to." He looked over to the fire in the fireplace. "Doyle, done with the marshmallows yet?"  
  
The Irish man shook his head. "Not yet. Almost, though."  
  
"Don't burn them!" Cordelia said, looking back at her script in the firelight. "Should we start from the top?"  
  


_// Your glowing, mystic eyes   
In your innocent smiling face, breaking down   
Only your eyes hold a sign   
An endless journey is beginning The pounding in my chest just won't stop   
I want to carry you away \\_  
  


Things were so different now. Angel was gone...he might still be alive, or what accounted for a vampire being alive, but they really considered him dead.  
  
Doyle and Cordelia had tried to continue without him and almost would have failed if it hadn't been for Pike. After spending a lot of time thinking about the things he learned while dating Buffy, he finally decided he needed to help.  
  
Buffy didn't need him, though.  
  
But she knew some people who did.  
  


_// Ooh, oh baby, it's so easy to love you  
Dark clouds roll in day by day   
A stubborn, whimsical angel I don't hate you for it \\_  
  


"Cordelia...I burned the marshmallows." Doyle looked at his fiancee with baleful eyes. "Forgive me?"  
  
Cordelia rolled her eyes and then laughed. "Of course, Doyle." She went back to the computer. "Is the antivirus done downloading yet?"  
  
Pike shook his head. "Nope, not yet. How'd it get on here, anyway?"  
  
"Someone," Cordelia said archly, looking at Doyle, "decided to download a South Park version of Super Mario Brothers from someplace other than http://www.download.com, and it had a virus attached."  
  
"It was a sheer accident, princess."  
  


_// But I feel it's not an accident, more heart to heart   
We'll warm the frozen dream if we're together All right baby \\_  


  
Pike coughed. It quickly turned into a hacking cough fit. He'd been trying to hide that he was sick, but it just wasn't working anymore. No one could figure out what was wrong, not even that perverted touchy-feely doctor that Lorne had dragged him to. The Host was a good demon, but...  
  
"Come on, take the meds," Cordelia urged, pushing the bottle towards Pike.  
  
Pike shook his head. "I don't want to miss this, and I'll go to sleep if I take them..."  
  
"Now."  
  
Pike sighed, swallowing the pills dry.  
  


_// Everything is melting, mystic eyes   
Drawing me in time and time   
Only I am crushed in your eyes   
We are facing everlasting love, running faster than light   
In order to protect you \\_  
  


A few minutes later, Pike was starting to fall asleep downstairs in what was Angel's room. He didn't know why he was sick, but he did know he needed help.  
  
"Pike," said a quiet voice from the shadows.  
  
A dark figure walked out, tall dark and handsome with a brooding expression. Pike knew it had to be Angel. "Why..."  
  
"Shh." Angel sat next to Pike on the bed. "You helped my friends, now I'm going to help you. You need to drink this."  
  
He handed him a glass filled with a foul smelling liquid. "Drink it all."  
  


_// Say, do you hear it? It's the sound of our future being reborn \\_  


  
Upstairs, Doyle and Cordelia sat next to each other quietly, eating burnt marshmallows with graham crackers and chocolate, watching the computer screen.  
  
"Do you still miss Angel?" Cordelia asked Doyle.  
  
"I think I'll always miss him, princess," Doyle said, hugging her tightly. "I wonder where he is now..."   
  
She looked at the frame with a picture of Angel, Cordelia and Doyle when they first started. "Me too."  
  


_// They burst into flames, your mystic eyes   
With your genuine smile, touch my heart   
Only your eyes hold a sign   
Embraced in a gentle kiss; the pounding in my chest just won't stop   
Because I'm going to carry you away \\_  
  


Angel went upstairs, silently, and watched the scene between Doyle and Cordelia. Maybe it was better if they thought he was still dead, maybe it wasn't...it was up to Pike what he said to them. But when the time came, he'd be there to help them no matter what happened, even if they never had to know.  
  
Eternally, and ever after.  
  



End file.
